|
|
|
|
|
EHAM QTH QRZ ARRL HRO ICOM KENWOOD YAESU ELBO ROOM
QTH Ad: Worked fine before the flood. May be able to find the mike somewhere in the neighborhood. Should work fine after it dries out. No returns due to parts swappers...$300 or BO MONDAY EDITION: Beautiful day on the island, Sunny and 70 predicted....10 and 15 still the place to be...a wire and 100 watts and you can work the world... Winamp Taken Down: Too Good For This Open Source WorldIf you picked today in your hackerspace’s sweepstake on when Winamp would pull their code repository, congratulations! You’re a winner! The source for the Windows version of the venerable music player was released on GitHub three weeks ago, and after some derision over its licence terms, a bunch of possible open source violations, and the inadvertent release of some proprietary third-party code, it’s been taken down. We’re sure that if you still have a burning desire to look at it then it won’t be too difficult to find a copy through your favorite search engine, leaving the question of what really just happened. It’s fairly obvious that the owners of the code lacked some level of understanding of just what open source really is, based on their not-really-open licence and all those code leaks. They did back down on not allowing people to create forks, but it’s evident that they didn’t anticipate the reaction they got. So were they merely a bit clueless, or was it all just a publicity stunt involving a piece of software that’s now of more historical than practical interest? It’s possible we’ll never know, but the story has provided those of us sitting on the fence eating popcorn with some entertainment. Results of the 2024 USA/IARU Region 2 Radio Orienteering ChampionshipsThe 23rd USA and 12th IARU Region 2 Radio Orienteering Championships, held October 5 – 13, 2024, brought together more than 50 competitors from 13 U.S. states, as well as participants from Canada, Australia, Uganda, and China. Set in the scenic parks and forests near Chelsea, Dexter, Pinckney, and Brighton, Michigan, the event was organized by the Southern Michigan Orienteering Club (SMOC), with… Read more American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources – Read More
Amateur Radio
Newsline Report FRIDAY EDITION: Static Electricity And The Machines That Make ItStatic electricity often just seems like an everyday annoyance when a wool sweater crackles as you pull it off, or when a doorknob delivers an unexpected zap. Regardless, the phenomenon is much more fascinating and complex than these simple examples suggest. In fact, static electricity is direct observable evidence of the actions of subatomic particles and the charges they carry. While zaps from a fuzzy carpet or playground slide are funny, humanity has learned how to harness this naturally occurring force in far more deliberate and intriguing ways. In this article, we’ll dive into some of the most iconic machines that generate static electricity and explore how they work. Fail of the Week: The Case of the Curiously Colored StreetlightsWhat color are the street lights in your town? While an unfortunate few still suffer under one of the awful colors offered by vapor discharge lamps, like the pink or orange of sodium or the greenish-white of mercury, most municipalities have moved to energy-saving LED streetlights, with a bright white light that’s generally superior in every way. Unless, of course, things go wrong and the lights start to mysteriously change colors. If you’ve noticed this trend in your area, relax; [NanoPalomaki] has an in-depth and surprisingly interesting analysis of why LED streetlights are changing colors. After examining a few streetlights removed from service thanks to changing from white to purple, he discovered a simple explanation. White LEDs aren’t emitting white light directly; rather, the white light comes from phosphors coating the underlying LED, which emits a deep blue light. The defunct units all showed signs of phosphor degradation. In some cases, the phosphors seemed discolored, as if they experienced overheating or chemical changes. In other LEDs the phosphor layer was physically separated from the backing, exposing the underlying LEDs completely. The color of these damaged modules was significantly shifted toward the blue end of the spectrum, which was obviously why they were removed from service. Now, a discolored LED here and there does not exactly constitute a streetlight emergency, but it’s happening to enough cities that people are starting to take notice. The obvious solution would be for municipalities to replace the dodgy units Even in the unlikely event that a city would get some compensation from the manufacturer, this seems like an expensive proposition. Luckily, [NanoPalomaki] tested a solution: he mixed a wideband phosphor into a UV-curable resin and painted it onto the lens of each defective LED in the fixture. Two coats seemed to do the trick. We have to admit that we have a hard time visualizing a city employee painstakingly painting LEDs when swapping out a fixture would take an electrician a few minutes, but at least it’s an option. And, it’s something for hobbyists and homeowners faced with the problem of wonky white LEDs to keep in mind too. What Is It?Before we look at the fancy science gear, we should actually define what we’re talking about here. In simple terms, static electricity is the result of an imbalance of electric charges within or on the surface of a material. While positively-charged protons tend to stay put, electrons, with their negative charges, can move between materials when they come into contact or rub against one another. When one material gains electrons and becomes negatively charged, and another loses electrons and becomes positively charged, a static electric field is created. The most visible result of this is when those charges are released—often in the form of a sudden spark. Since it forms so easily on common materials, humans have been aware of static electricity for quite some time. One of the earliest recorded studies of the phenomenon came from the ancient Greeks. Around 1000 BC, they noticed that rubbing amber with fur would then allow it to attract small objects like feathers. Little came of this discovery, which was ascribed as a curious property of amber itself. Fast forward to the 17th century, though, and scientists were creating the first machines designed to intentionally store or generate static electricity. These devices helped shape our understanding of electricity and paved the way for the advanced electrical technologies we use today. Let’s explore a few key examples of these machines, each of which demonstrates a different approach to building and manipulating static charge. The Leyden JarAn 1886 drawing of Andreas Cunaeus experimenting with his apparatus. In this case, his hand is helping to store the charge. Credit: public domain Though not exactly a machine for generating static electricity, the Leyden jar is a critical part of early electrostatic experiments. Effectively a static electricity storage device, it was independently discovered twice, first by a German named Ewald Georg von Kleist in 1745. However, it gained its common name when it was discovered by Pieter van Musschenbroek, a Dutch physicist, sometime between 1745 and 1746. The earliest versions were very simple, consisting of water in a glass jar that was charged with static electricity conducted to it via a metal rod. The experimenter’s hand holding the jar served as one plate of what was a rudimentary capacitor, the water being the other. The Leyden jar thus stored static electricity in the water and the experimenter’s hand. Eventually the common design became a glass jar with layers of metal foil both inside and outside, separated by the glass. Early experimenters would charge the jar using electrostatic generators, and then discharge it with a dramatic spark. The Leyden jar is one of the first devices that allowed humans to store and release static electricity on command. It demonstrated that static charge could be accumulated and held for later use, which was a critical step in understanding the principles that would lead to modern capacitors. The Leyden jar can still be used in demonstrations of electrostatic phenomena and continues to serve as a fascinating link to the history of electrical science. The Van de Graaff GeneratorA Van de Graaff generator can be configured to run in either polarity, depending on the materials chosen and how it is set up. Here, we see the generator being used to feed negative charges into an attached spherical conductor. Credit: Omphalosskeptic, CC BY-SA 3.0 Perhaps the most iconic machine associated with generating static electricity is the Van de Graaff generator. Developed in the 1920s by American physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff, this machine became a staple of science classrooms and physics demonstrations worldwide. The device is instantly recognizable thanks to its large, polished metal sphere that often causes hair to stand on end when a person touches it. The Van de Graaff generator works by transferring electrons through mechanical movement. It uses a motor-driven belt made of insulating material, like rubber or nylon, which runs between two rollers. At the bottom roller, plastic in this example, a comb or brush (called the lower electrode) is placed very close to the belt. As the belt moves, electrons are transferred from the lower roller onto the belt due to friction in what is known as the triboelectric effect. This leaves the lower roller positively charged and the belt carrying excess electrons, giving it a negative charge. The electric field surrounding the positively charged roller tends to ionize the surrounding air and attracts more negative charges from the lower electrode. As the belt moves upward, it carries these electrons to the top of the generator, where another comb or brush (the upper electrode) is positioned near the large metal sphere. The upper roller is usually metal in these cases, which stays neutral rather than becoming intensely charged like the bottom roller. The upper electrode pulls the electrons off the belt, and they are transferred to the surface of the metal sphere. Because the metal sphere is insulated and not connected to anything that can allow the electrons to escape, the negative charge on the sphere keeps building up to very high voltages, often in the range of hundreds of thousands of volts. Alternatively, the whole thing can be reversed in polarity by changing the belt or roller materials, or by using a high voltage power supply to charge the belt instead of the triboelectric effect. The result is a machine capable of producing massive static charges and dramatic sparks. In addition to its use as a demonstration tool, Van de Graaff generators have applications in particle physics. Since they can generate incredibly high voltages, they were once used to accelerate particles to high speeds for physics experiments. These days, though, our particle accelerators are altogether more complex. The Whimsical Wimshurst MachineTwo disks with metal sectors spin in opposite directions upon turning the hand crank. A small initial charge is able to induce charge in other sectors as the machine is turned. Credit: public domain Another fascinating machine for generating static electricity is the Wimshurst machine, invented in the late 19th century by British engineer James Wimshurst. While less famous than the Van de Graaff generator, the Wimshurst machine is equally impressive in its operation and design. The key functional parts of the machine are the two large, circular disks made of insulating material—originally glass, but plastic works too. These disks are mounted on a shared axle, but they rotate in opposite directions when the hand crank is turned. The surfaces of the disks have small metal sectors—typically aluminum or brass—which play a key role in generating static charge. As the disks rotate, brushes made of fine metal wire or other conductive material lightly touch their surfaces near the outer edges. These brushes don’t generate the initial charge but help to collect and amplify it once it is present. The key to the Wimshurst machine’s operation lies in a process called electrostatic induction, which is essentially the influence that a charged object can exert on nearby objects, even without touching them. At any given moment, one small area of the rotating disk may randomly pick up a small amount of charge from the surrounding air or by friction. This tiny initial charge is enough to start the process. As this charged area on the disk moves past the metal brushes, it induces an opposite charge in the metal sectors on the other disk, which is rotating in the opposite direction. For example, if a positively charged area on one disk passes by a brush, it will induce a negative charge on the metal sectors of the opposite disk at the same position. These newly induced charges are then collected by a pair of metal combs located above and below the disks. The combs are typically connected to Leyden jars to store the charge, until the voltage builds up high enough to jump a spark over a gap between two terminals. It is common to pair a Wimshurst machine with Leyden jars to store the generated charge. Credit: public domain The Wimshurst machine doesn’t create static electricity out of nothing; rather, it amplifies small random charges through the process of electrostatic induction as the disks rotate. As the charge is collected by brushes and combs, it builds up on the machine’s terminals, resulting in a high-voltage output that can produce dramatic sparks. This self-amplifying loop is what makes the Wimshurst machine so effective at generating static electricity. The Wimshurst machine is seen largely as a curio today, but it did have genuine scientific applications back in the day. Beyond simply using it to investigate static electricity, its output could be discharged into Crookes tubes to create X-rays in a very rudimentary way. The Electrophorus: Simple Yet IngeniousOne of the simplest machines for working with static electricity is the electrophorus, a device that dates back to 1762. Invented by Swedish scientist Johan Carl Wilcke, the electrophorus consists of two key parts: a flat dielectric plate and a metal disk with an insulating handle. The dielectric plate was originally made of resinous material, but plastic works too. Meanwhile, the metal disk is naturally conductive. An electrophorus device, showing the top metal disk, and the bottom dielectric material, at times referred to as the “cake.” The lower dielectric was classically charged by rubbing with fur. Credit: public domain To generate static electricity with the electrophorus, the dielectric plate is first rubbed with a cloth to create a static charge through friction. This is another example of the triboelectric effect, as also used in the Van de Graaff generator. Once the plate is charged, the metal disk is placed on top of it. The disc then becomes charged by induction. It’s much the same principle as the Wimshurst machine, with the electrostatic field of the dielectric plate pushing around the charges in the metal plate until it too has a distinct charge. For example, if the dielectric plate has been given a negative charge by rubbing, it will repel negative charges in the metal plate to the opposite side, giving the near surface a positive charge, and the opposite surface a negative charge. The net charge, though, remains neutral. But, if the metal disk is then grounded—for example, by briefly touching it with a finger—the negative charge on the disk can drained away, leaving it positively charged as a whole. This process does not deplete the charge on the dielectric, so it can be used to charge the metal disk multiple times, though the dielectric’s charge will slowly leak away in time. Though it’s simple in design, the electrophorus remains a remarkable demonstration of static electricity generation and was widely used in early electrostatic experiments. A particularly well-known example is that of Georg Lichtenberg. He used a version a full two meters in diameter to create large discharges for his famous Lichtenberg figures. Overall, it’s an excellent tool for teaching the basic principles of electrostatics and charge separation—particularly given how simple it is in construction compared to some of the above machines. ZapStatic electricity, once a mysterious and elusive force, has long since been tamed and turned into a valuable tool for scientific inquiry and education. Humans have developed numerous machines to generate, manipulate, and study static electricity—these are just some of the stars of the field. Each of these devices played an important role in furthering humanity’s understanding of electrostatics, and to a degree, physics in general. Today, these machines continue to serve as educational tools and historical curiosities, offering a glimpse into the early days of electrical science—and they still spark fascination on the regular, quite literally. Static electricity may be an everyday phenomenon, but the machines that harness its power are still captivating today. Just go to any local science museum for the proof!
Amateur Radio
Newsline Report
THURSDAY EDITION: 10 meters to be the best bang for your buck in ham radio....worked dozens of countries yesterday without the amplifier,,,,try a few repeaters on 10 as well, they are a hoot! Turn Your Android Phone into a Ham Radio with this Open-Source ProjectA clever hack to make your phone more useful! A ham radio, or amateur radio, as it is known more formally, is a type of radio communication device that is used by many people to communicate over large distances for a multitude of things.
The most popular use case for such devices is for relaying emergency communication during natural/man-made disasters, facilitating information sharing between first responders and people trapped in a remote disaster-struck area. Of course, there are more casual uses for ham radios too. Many people connect with other ham radio operators from around the world to have a conversation, learn about the person/people on the other end, enter contests, and more.
However, traditional ham radio setups are bulky, sitting on top of a desk with antennas, a mic, and the radio itself. What if I told you that there is an open source project that allows you to convert your Android smartphone into a portable ham radio? Join me as I take you through an interesting DIY project. Amateur Radio Daily: HAARP Active for Routine Tests and MaintenanceDate: October 14,
2024 The
High-frequency
Active Auroral
Research Program
(HAARP) will be
performing routine
systems October 15 October 16 October 17 Each frequency will be transmitted in four different directions. There are no specific data collection requests for these transmissions, but reception reports are welcome and may be submitted to uaf-gi-haarp@alaska.edu. Source: HAARP
WEDNESDAY EDITION: Coffee and donuts at the club today if you are in the area...Dave at HRO, change the 75 foot to 100 foot on the rotor cable please.... SpaceX notches 100th launch of 2024 with Starlink mission on Falcon 9 rocketSpaceX broke its own record for number of orbital launches performed by one company, which it set at 96 in 2023. The Starlink 10-10 mission put SpaceX at 97 orbital flights with two-and-a-half months still remaining in the year. The Falcon 9 launch also marked SpaceX’s 100th total launch of 2024, including three suborbital launches of its Starship rocket from southern Texas. Liftoff happened at 2:10 a.m. EDT (0610 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1080 in the SpaceX fleet, launched for an 11th time. It previously flew two private astronaut missions to the International Space Station (Axiom-2 and Axiom-3), two Cargo Dragon missions to the ISS (NG-21 and CRS-30) and the Euclid space telescope for the European Space Agency (ESA). A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1080 touched down on the SpaceX droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’ This marked the 81st booster landing for ASOG and the 353rd booster landing to date. Onboard the mission are 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites. This was the first launch of Starlink satellites since the upper stage anomaly occurred during the Crew-9 mission on Sept. 28. The last batch of Starlink satellites launched during the Starlink 9-8 mission on Sept. 25. During the Crew-9 mission, after the Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft separated from the upper stage, the Merlin Vacuum Engine fired for an additional 500 milliseconds during the deorbit burn, which caused the stage to move outside of its planned landing zone to burn up over the Pacific Ocean. The issue was investigated by SpaceX in a mishap investigation overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration and checked by NASA in an independent review. Since the mishap, SpaceX successfully launched both a Falcon 9 rocket on the Hera asteroid mission for ESA and a Falcon Heavy rocket on the Europa Clipper mission for NASA. Microsoft Azure CTO: US data centers will soon hit size limitsThe data centers that make generative AI products like ChatGPT possible will soon reach size limits, according to Microsoft Azure Chief Technology Officer Mark Russinovich, necessitating a new method of connecting multiple data centers together for future generations of the technology. The most advanced AI models today need to be trained inside a single building where tens (and soon hundreds) of thousands of AI processors, such as Nvidia’s H100s, can be connected so they act as one computer. But as Microsoft and its rivals compete to build the world’s most powerful AI models, several factors, including America’s aging energy grid, will create a de facto cap on the size of a single data center, which soon could consume multiple gigawatts of power, equivalent to hundreds of thousands of homes. STORY
TUESDAY EDITION: Sunny and cold, fine by me.... As Hurricanes Disrupt Phone Service, Amateur Radio Comes In ClearRadio became the one form of communication left in rural North Carolina after Helene took out power and cell service.The morning after Hurricane Helene pummeled the eastern seaboard of the U.S., Thomas Witherspoon inspected the damage to his western North Carolina home. The night before, he listened to the wind whip down trees and snap power lines along the two-mile access road connecting his family to their few neighbors in Buncombe County. Like the tens of thousands of other North Carolina residents, the power to Witherspoon’s neighborhood was completely out. It was impossible to communicate with the house down the road, let alone anyone several miles away. Unable to send text messages or make phone calls, radio became the one form of communication left in rural North Carolina. After fixing what he could on his own property, Witherspoon, a lifelong amateur radio enthusiast, began distributing handheld radios to his neighbors. “Amateur radio is one of those things you get into because of your love of radio communications and the technical aspects of it or the community and the challenges that you can overcome,” Witherspoon said. “It’s a lot of fun, but underlying all of that is this prime directive with amateur radio that it’s always there as emergency communications when all else fails.” Other amateur radio enthusiasts have helped out as well. Two weeks ago, operators fielded requests for medications, like insulin, and announced when grocery stores, like Sam’s Club, reopened. Most of the messages were to let friends and family know that they’re OK. “Mom, your son is OK. No phone service. Happy birthday,” one caller asked an operator to send his mother during a livestream of the broadcast. Hurricanes have wreaked havoc on the United States over the past month. More than 200 people have been confirmed dead as a result of Helene and many more have gone missing, making it the most destructive U.S. hurricane since Katrina in 2005. Nearly a week after Helene made landfall, cell service dead zones plagued the Carolinas, leaving thousands of residents unable to reach their friends, families, and even emergency responders. As Hurricane Milton built in the Gulf of Mexico last week, radio operators in Florida were also preparing to launch their net — a group of operators communicating live over the air. Scott Roberts, an amateur radio section manager for northern Florida, said that operators in his area started checking their equipment and making plans to deploy to shelters as of last Monday. There are more than 1 million licensed radio amateurs in the U.S. like Witherspoon and Roberts, according to a Federal Communications Commission spokesperson. Some amateur radio bands are short bands, reaching only small communities of people, while others cover hundreds and even thousands of miles. When communication infrastructure fails, like cellular networks during a natural disaster, the FCC allows for amateur radio operators to assist in recovery efforts. Gordon Mooneyhan, spokesperson for the American Radio Relay League, said he knows of three main repeaters being used to convey messages inside the disaster area from Hurricane Helene, including the Mt. Mitchell Repeater, which is located at the highest point in North Carolina at 6,600 feet and boosts localized radio broadcasts to a wider network. This is where Witherspoon read off supply requests and road closures. Messages are sent digitally using what is essentially a modem, linking a computer to the radio and turning the messages into a form of high-speed morse code with the Winlink Global Radio Email system. “You type the message, and it will automatically calculate the word count and send it to the next station,” said Mooneyhan. “The next station automatically sends back what the word count is supposed to be, so it’s all verified and there aren’t any errors.” Whether a message out of the disaster zone is bound for a neighboring state or a family member in Asia, there are operators everywhere capable of getting it where it needs to go. “You wanna go to Texas? They’ll find a net that’s taking traffic to Texas, sign in, relay the message, and deliver it,” said Mooneyhan. As of last Monday, telecommunications companies were still putting up temporary towers to restore cell phone connectivity in North Carolina. AT&T and T-Mobile had deployed mobile units where residents could drive to connect their phones to Wi-Fi and send messages. For many residents, the simplest method of reaching a loved one was speaking into a handheld radio. As Hurricane Milton grew into a category 5 storm last Monday, amateur radio operators in Florida were already preparing to respond if the state’s communications infrastructure fails. “Florida amateur radio operators are perfectly equipped to handle Hurricane Milton, even just after Hurricane Helene,” said Josh Johnston, the director of emergency management for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. “They have the systems in place and have a well-refined action plan in each county, as well as at the state level. They’re quite accustomed to busy storm seasons, and ready to provide critical information to served agencies as Milton comes through.” “It’s not as nice as getting a phone call from a loved one,” said Mooneyhan, “but if you’re in an area where the cell service and land lines are totally disrupted, a message saying ‘I’m OK, everyone’s fine, don’t worry,’ that beats the heck out of not knowing.” The K7RA Solar UpdateThanks to Carl, K9LA for contributing to this week's bulletin. "SUBJ: ASWFC GEOMAGNETIC DISTURBANCE WARNING ISSUED AT 2220 UTC/10 OCTOBER 2024 BY THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE WEATHER FORECASTING CENTRE. "A halo CME first observed on 09-Oct arrived at Earth at 10/1515UT, resulting in G4 geomagnetic conditions on 10-Oct. G4 geomagnetic conditions are expected on 11-Oct, with a chance of G5. G2 geomagnetic conditions are expected on 12-Oct, with a chance of G3 due to ongoing CME effects. "INCREASED GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY EXPECTED DUE TO CORONAL MASS EJECTION FROM 11-13 OCTOBER 2024 "GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY FORECAST 11 Oct: G4, chance of G5 12 Oct: G2, chance of G3 13 Oct: G0-G1" Only four new sunspot groups emerged this week. The first was on October 4, another on October 6 and two more on October 7. Average daily sunspot number moved from 160 (Sep 26-Oct 2 period) to 182 (Oct 3-9 period), and average daily solar flux from 199 to 270. Predicted solar flux is 215 on October 11-13, 210 on October 14-15, 200 and 205 on October 16-17, and 170 on October 18-21, then 175, 180, 185, 190, 195, 215, 230, 240, 250 and 255 on October 22-31, then 230 and 215 on November 1-2, then 205 on November 3-4, 200 and 185 on November 5-6, 175 on November 7-12, and 170 on November 13-17. Predicted planetary A index reveals a huge disturbance at 122, 42, 12 and 12 on October 11-14, 5 on October 15-21, then 15, 10, 5, 5, 12 and 8 on October 22-27, 5 on October 28 til November 2, 12 and 8 on November 3-4, 5 on November 5-7, 8 on November 8, and 5 on November 9-17. "Weekly Commentary on the Sun, the Magnetosphere, and the Earth's Ionosphere for October 10, 2024 from OK1HH. "During the first ten days of October, the number of sunspot groups dropped from eleven to five, but the eruptive activity of the two largest sunspot groups did not decrease. Not only are moderate flares (M-classes, of which 34 were observed) frequent, but large events (X-classes) are also relatively common (five effects were observed, including one proton flare on 9 October). Several CMEs (coronal mass ejections) were also observed. "After the two most active regions in particular moved to the western half of the solar disk, geomagnetic activity has increased significantly since 6 October. The most significant impacts on the state of the ionosphere were on 8 October. This will be followed by a very slow return to normal, lasting several days. A calm development can be expected after mid-October." Reader Allison King sent this: https://nyti.ms/3YiNZtP David Moore sent this. A new era of solar observation:
MONDAY EDITION: I just had $700 of tree work done at the club so the second tower beams can swing without hitting limbs. I need to replace the rotor and I don't climb anymore nor do any of the guys in the club, all 130 of them. I need to find someone to swap a rotor out, next issue....tower is only 30 feet tall and tied to the building, standing on the roof would do the trick. Celebrations mark first transglobal two-way radio communicationThis week marks the centenary of the world’s very first transglobal two-way radio communication. On 18 October 1924 Frank Bell, 4AA, from New Zealand, and Cecil Goyder, 2SZ, from North London, changed the way in which we communicate forever by making contact on the amateur bands. To commemorate this historic contact, special call signs will be active, and awards and QSL cards will be available for those who make contact with these special stations. GB2NZ and ZM100DX have already been active since the start of the month. Starting Monday, 14 October 2024 until 20 October 2024 calls reflecting Goyder’s call sign, G2SZ, and Bell’s, ZL4AA, will be active. This will include activity here in the UK from Mill Hill School in North London which is the original location from which Goyder made his contact. On Friday, 18 October, radio amateurs will also be recreating and reenacting the first contact between Goyder and Bell. It is hoped that the QSO will be made on a wavelength close to that used in 1924. To find out more about this unique celebration go to the GB2NZ webpage
FRIDAY EDITION: Fall is here, I have one truckload of leaves for the dump today. I do the leaves as they come down, it makes things a lot easier, we have a 170 foot long tree lined driveway of beech and oak trees. Aurora was beautiful to see last night and had a definite effect on signals on 75 last night, spooky.... A Wisconsinite Heads into Milton’s Path on PurposeMADISON, Wis. (CIVIC MEDIA) – A local is in Florida preparing now to help with hurricane Milton relief, and he’s brought crucial communication tools with him. A Wisconsinite hit the road ahead of Milton’s landfall and made his way to Tampa, Florida. He’s there now helping with a unique and essential need… communication. As cell phone coverage goes out, it can be days to even a week before your family or loved ones even know if you are dead or alive. “What I’m offering is communications to talk to the outside world.” Dan Vanevenhoven is a volunteer with Amateur Radio Emergency Services, he lives in the Fox Valley area and a former Tampa Bay area resident. STORY Perkins retires emergency coordinator postAllen Perkins, N1ATS, has retired from his position as Cumberland County amateur radio emergency coordinator. A member of the Cumberland Plateau Amateur Radio Club, Perkins stepped into the post several years ago. He has also served as assistant emergency coordinator for 13 counties in District 6. "Through the years, I have been the direct contact with the amateurs that are set up at the National Weather Service to relay actual and current weather to them from our county," he said. "I have used a map of the county that has been squared off in quadrants so as to locate very close to any possible situations that needed emergency assistance. We have club members throughout the county in those squares that can relay actual and current severe weather at the time of occurrence." Perkins added, "This has been my calling and I regret that I am stepping down as EC, but I will let the person that takes my place that I will still be available if needed and will still be net control for severe weather." Perkins and his wife, Sandy, moved to Cumberland County in January 2009, months after he retired from Irving Oil LLC of Canada and USA. A former assistant emergency coordinator in Cumberland County, ME, he said part of his retirement plans was to devote time to his beloved hobby of amateur — or ham — radio. "After a few months here I was advised that many amateurs would meet at the Dairy Queen Monday-Friday in the morning for a chat session," he said. "It was there I met Wayne Alley K4MGE. He was at the time the EC for the county and after our friendship bloomed, he asked me if I would like to accept a passion as AEC for the county. Being involved in law enforcement many years ago and 33 years' military experience, I accepted his invitation." Perkins remembers Alley was well known and respected at the county Emergency Management Agency office. He introduced Perkins to Keith Garrison, then EMA director, who Perkins describes as down to earth and dedicated to his position and Cumberland County. Working with Garrison, he transmitted to the National Traffic Service, the nation's information center for amateur radio. When Garrison retired, Perkins continued his work with EMA and Garrison's successor, Rick Smith. W3USR Ham Radio Station Dedication Oct. 25 (Pennsylvania)The University of Scranton will dedicate a state-of-the-art amateur radio station that serves students in the University’s W3USR Amateur Radio Club and is also used for physics courses and research by students and faculty participating with the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) project led by Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D., associate professor of physics and engineering at Scranton. Research conducted using the facility has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, the Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) foundation and other organizations. Located on the fifth floor of the Loyola Science Center, the main station has floor to ceiling glass walls with sweeping views of the city of Scranton. Last academic year, a 40-foot tower with a Skyhawk High Frequency antenna for 14, 21, and 28 MHz, as well as VHF/UHF satellite and microwave antennas, some with rotating mounts were installed, in addition to heavy-duty controllers, all-mode transceivers, speakers, desktop microphones and other components. Read more – https://bit.ly/3Y20lW3 HAMS YOU MIGHT KNOW
K1TP-
Jon....Editor of As The World
Turns....
SILENT KEYS Silet Key
KA1BXB-Don...Regular
on 3900 mornings....just
don't
mention
politics
to
him,
please! |
